Come Home To Me
by huntressofartemis101
Summary: So this is just a small AU of my story Beautiful Miracle of Erebor. You can read it alone, but some things may make more sense if you read them together. So Thorin is in the Marines, and his adopted daughter Elona stresses and worries over when he's gonna come back. No slash.


Elona Moriah Durin sighed unhappily and rested her head on the back of the couch. There were absolutely no good channels on TV today. Why are the good shows always played during the week, and the crappy shows played on the weekend? Ugh, stupid satellite company. She wished her adoptive dad Thorin Durin was here; he could think of something she could do. But no, he just had to be hundreds of miles away in Mahal-knows-where, on his ship _The Dragon. _He was a Marine, and Elona was proud of him, but sometimes she really _really _wished he was here. Even now her eyes started misting over as she wondered if she would ever see him again, or be engulfed in one of his huge bear hugs and swung around like a child.

When her dad was overseas, Elona lived with her brothers Kili and Fili Durin. Well, technically they were her cousins, being Thorin's nephews, but they treated each other as siblings, even if they _were_ ten years older than her fifteen years. At least Kili was ten years older, Fili was thirty years old (fifteen years older than her) and her legal guardian when Thorin was gone.

Elona sighed again. This Saturday seemed endless, and it was only ten. She had woken up to an empty house, cold coffee sitting on the stove, and a note sitting on the table:

_Elona, we have some errands to run today. Won't be back until dinner. Love you. _

_ ~K & F_

"Well, how hard would it have been to wake me up huh? Or told me last night?" she muttered as she slipped her riding boots on. A long trail ride with her mare Pilgrim sounded fun. She grabbed an apple for herself and a few sugar cubes for her horse and set out the door.

The first time she had seen the Durin house was when she had been adopted at age seven. _House _didn't even do it justice. It was more like a ranch, but had a forge (Thorin was a blacksmith when he wasn't overseas), a shed dedicated to Kili and Fili's many guns, a large shed for tack, and many other buildings that Elona still had to explore. She walked over to the stables that had Thorin's name and heaved the heavy doors open.

Dust swirled through the sun light shining through a few holes in the roof, having a calming effect on Elona. Her old rope swing Thorin had rigged for her when she was younger swung lazily over the hay, and pigeons and doves made soft music in the dim light. Mice dodged around Elona's feet as she stepped into a room full of bridles and grabbed Pilgrim's hackamore. The black and white blanket appaloosa had a temper that rivaled Elona's at times, but was the sweetest thing when she didn't have a bit in her mouth.

The horse had been a Christmas present from Thorin a few years back. Elona slipped the hackamore over Pilgrim's halter and led her to a fence so she could climb up. Soon, they were flying bareback through the fields behind the barns, stirring up the brown rabbits and the making the peasants squawk in outrage at them.

Elona loved riding. It is what she lived for. The wind making her molten chocolate curls fly out behind her, the sun leaning down and kissing her nose and neck, and the feeling of being one with her horse was heaven on earth for the teen. She could forget all her problems at school, her arguments she occasionally had with Fili and Kili, and most of all, she could forget about her worries for Thorin. It was impossible for her to think negatively when around horses. They filled her with hope, made her smile through tears, and were the best friends she could ever ask for.

She wasn't very social at school; instead she was shy and kept to herself. Her closest friend outside of her adopted family is Kili's fiancé Tauriel. Tauriel was able to sympathize with Elona when she was younger and still going from one foster home to another. Tauriel had been orphaned when she was very young, like Elona, but never had been adopted. She was Elona's mother figure, sister, girlfriend, tutor (the guys were hopeless at math and English), guy-problem advisor, and her shoulder to cry on when Thorin wasn't around. In short, Elona would fall apart when Thorin was gone if Tauriel wasn't there.

Elona was jerked out of her thoughts when Pilgrim slowed her pace. They had reached the end of the field and were entering the forest. She smiled, some days Pilgrim just seemed to read her thoughts. Elona guided her horse through the trees to a small clearing she had discovered a few years ago. It was surrounded by trees and bushes, making it very secluded. Giant oaks towered above it, the sunlight filtering through the leafy roof and casting a golden glow over the grass, making it feel like a scene from a fairy tale. A creek gurgled lazily through the middle and was surrounded by soft rocks that had been heated by the sun.

Elona smiled as she slipped off Pilgrim's hackamore and kicked her socks and boots off. The only one who knew of her little sanctuary was Thorin, and he had promised not to tell anyone about it. The smile slipped off her face at the thought of her father, and her worries returned. It had been seven months since she had seen him last and only was able to call him a few times since then. A tear slipped from her eye as she thought about the possibility of never seeing him again, but she angrily wiped it away. How upset he would be if he knew she had been crying over him! Of course she would see Thorin again. He promised…

Elona spent the rest of her day running around barefoot with Pilgrim, and eventually sat down to rest at the edge of her creek. Pilgrim came to lay behind her and she leaned back into her horse's warm coat. She closed eyes, turning her face to the setting sun, and without meaning too, slowly fell asleep.

The breeze and sound of hoofs on leaves woke Elona up. The sky was a deep, deep blue, even deeper blue than Thorin's favorite jacket, the heavy one with all the fur, and it had hot pink randomly streaking through it… Why was she thinking this with someone approaching her on horseback and she had no way of knowing who it was? Oh, yeah, she just woke up. She tends to have extremely random thoughts when she first wakes up. Silent as a shadow, Elona rolled until she was hiding behind a rock. She quickly flipped her carving knife from where she hid it under her shirt and held it at the ready. Pilgrim was nowhere in sight, but Elona could barely make out a figure atop a horse making its way to her.

It was too dark to make out his face, but Elona could see his silhouette. He was a short, stocky man, with long hair, and… "Fili?" she stood up. "What are you doing?" his head whipped around to face her, braided mustache and ponytail flying. "Elona! There you are! Pilgrim came back alone so I decided to look for you."

She walked over to him. "Sorry. I was bored so I went for a ride and fell asleep." She slipped her knife back into its holster. _Rule number one when out alone, Elona. Always carry a knife. _Thorin's words came back to her, and she had to bite her lip to keep her face from scrunching up in tears. Oh, how she missed him. How she wished he would just come home already!

"Elona? Hello? Earth to El!" Fili's voice jerked Elona out of her thoughts. "What? Oh, sorry Fee." She took his hand and swung up behind him. He liked to ride bareback, like her. His horse was a chocolate brown Tennessee walker named Apples. Do not ask how he got that name, because it is a _really _long story.

"So, what was so important that you and Kee had to abandon me this morning with only _cold coffee _for company?" Fili let out a deep chuckle. "It's a surprise."

She sighed and leaned her head forward to rest on his shoulder. "Then can you hurry please?" Fili outright laughed at her impatience this time. "All in good time, my dear. All in good time." But he still kicked Apples up into his smooth-gaited trot.

Right when Elona's patience was about to snap, they finally saw a house. But it wasn't the Durin house. No it was Erebor Ranch, where Elona lived with Thorin. She slid off the horse with a confused frown. Fili, however, didn't follow like she expected him to.

"Fili? What's going on?" Fili watched her with a twinkle in his eye. "Kili and I think it might be good for you to sleep in your old bed tonight. We'll be right down the road if you need something." The twinkle hadn't left yet and was making her nervous.

"Ummmm…okay…I'll see you later then?" she wasn't scared of staying alone in her own house. No, she was scared of whatever the two brothers had planned. Fili smiled down at her and turned his horse to the road. "See ya in the mornin' El!" he called over his shoulder.

Elona walked up to the front door to find it already unlocked. _Fee and Kee must have come in earlier with my stuff…I hope they brought my stuff. _She walked in to find all the lights turned off except for the one in the kitchen. "Hello?" she called, walking slowly down the hall. "Tauriel? Kee? Who's here?" the muttering coming from the kitchen stopped, and was instead replaced by something heavy and metal hitting the floor, followed by someone cursing in a voice she knew all too well. "No," she breathed, not daring to believe it.

Elona barged into the kitchen, expecting her mind to be playing tricks on her. What she saw stopped her dead in her tracks. In front of the sink stood Thorin, cleaning the dishes that he, Kili, and Fili had apparently used for dinner. He was wearing jeans and his favorite blue T-shirt, like he had never left home. His long hair had been cut slightly shorter, now just brushing the tops of his shoulder, and his beard was still short, but he still had the wrinkles around his eyes that crinkled when he smiled, and he still wore two braids over his shoulders.

He hadn't noticed her yet, still muttering at the pan that had dropped back into the sink. She was frozen, and could do nothing but watch him. "Dad?" she finally managed to breathe out. Thorin quickly whipped around at her voice, dropping the dish he had been drying and held out his arms to her.

The spell holding Elona broke. She barged forwards, tears blocking her view. "Daddy," she smiled through her tears. "Oh Elona," Thorin breathed into her hair. "How I've missed you, little one." He pulled back and held her at arms' length. "You've gotten taller," he cast his eyes up and down her body, finally resting on her face and smiling. "But you're still shorter than I am."

Elona huffed, but ended up letting out a sob instead. Thorin gathered her back into his arms and slowly started rocking her. "Don't cry, Little Miracle. I'm here now. I'm home." Elona clutched to his shirt, as if she let him loose he would disappear into thin air, like in her dreams. "I missed you daddy," she sniffed. Thorin kissed the top of her head. "I know little one. Oh how I know. I missed you too." He clutched her to his chest, her head barely reaching his chin. They embraced there in the kitchen, Thorin thanking the Maker that he was able to hold his Jewel again and Elona trying to stop her tears.

Five years later, Thorin left again, but this time, he didn't come back. Elona never left Fili and Kili, slowly healing together. She died two years after news of Thorin's death came. A semi had collided with her truck, putting her in a coma until they had no choice to let her go. Kili found Fili dead from grief in his bed four months later, and then he passed not three weeks later, unable to stay from his brother for any longer.

So ended the Line of Durin.

* * *

**AN: I honestly have no idea where that ending came from. Like, absolutely none. I really needed some Elona/Thorin love in my life right now. **

**If you want to know more about my OC Elona Moriah, go read my story The Beautiful Miracle of Erebor. It's not that great, but hey, I'm just doing this for fun. **

**MY DEAREST FOLLOWERS! I promise I will update Beautiful Miracle soon. This has just been sitting on my PC for a few days and I needed to get it up. My mom and I are going to LA this weekend so I will try to update next week. I love you guys! **

**Now, everyone see that little box down there? It would make me feel amazing if you type something in it.**


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